The annual Museums + Heritage Awards, which took place online tonight (Thursday 1 July), celebrate the UK’s most innovative and inspiring heritage attractions, museums and galleries.

The Heritage Fund sponsored the Sustainable Project of the Year for the second year running. This award recognises some of the most ground-breaking sustainable practices being used in the sector.

Congratulations to Jubilee Pool, who won the sustainability prize this year for its pioneering project of creating the UK’s first geothermally heated pool.

Museums + Heritage Awards winner

Jubilee Pool is an Art Deco lido located near Penzance’s harbour, built to celebrate King George V’s Silver Jubilee in 1935.

The new heating system extracts warm water from a 410m-deep geothermal well. This is then used to heat fresh seawater in the pool that has been naturally drawn from the sea at high tide.

This project was about bringing environmental sustainability to the pool and also financial stability, ensuring that will be here and enjoyed for generations to come.

Richard James, Jubilee Pool

In his acceptance speech, Richard James from Jubilee Pool said: “A huge thank you to everyone that has supported us in this process, from the team at Jubilee Pool and our board of directors to the local community.

“Jubilee Pool is such an iconic place and means so much to the people around here. This project was about bringing environmental sustainability to the pool and also financial stability, ensuring that will be here and enjoyed for generations to come.”

Watch the moment CEO of The Heritage Fund, Ros Kerslake, announced the winner:

Jubilee Pool received £49,000 from The Heritage Fund in 2017 for its Jubilee Pool Stories project which is creating an archive of images and artifacts from throughout the pool’s history.

Innovative technology

Jubilee Pool is the first pool in the UK to use geothermal heating. This sustainable method removes the need for fossil fuel energy, substantially reducing the environmental impact of this much-loved leisure location.

We hope that by celebrating organisations who place sustainability at the heart of what they do, we can inspire others to take steps to tackle the climate and nature crises that we face.

Drew Bennellick, Head of Land and Nature Policy at The Heritage Fund

Drew Bennellick, Head of Land and Nature Policy at The Heritage Fund said: “We’re delighted to award Jubilee Pool Penzance with the 2021 Sustainable Project of the Year award. We were particularly impressed with the pool’s trailblazing commitment to environmental sustainability through using innovative technology to give new life to this historic lido.

“We are proud to sponsor this category in recognition of the importance we place on environmental sustainability in all our project funding. We hope that by celebrating organisations who place sustainability at the heart of what they do, we can inspire others to take steps to tackle the climate and nature crises that we face.”

Find out more about how we’re committed to protecting the environment through our funding and discover more environmentally sustainable projects.